Washington County Father Charged with Homicide In Baby's Death Has Preliminary Hearing
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- All charges were held against the man accused in a case involving the death of a 6-month-old baby.
Joshua George, from Smith Township, appeared by video for his preliminary hearing at the Washington County Courthouse on Friday. George showed no emotion during the nearly two-hour hearing.
While the district attorney believes George is responsible for the death of his son, George's attorney believes the circumstances aren't clear.
George is accused of abusing his 6-month-old son, Oliver, who was taken to the hospital with severe head trauma at the end of December and died a few days later.
Michael Welch was one of the witnesses the district attorney called to the stand.
"I just said the truth, that's all," said Welch.
Welch is a family friend. During testimony he told the judge:
"When Oliver went to the hospital, Joshua said he felt this was going to fall back on him."
The baby's mother, Caitlin Riffle, also testified, saying that Oliver was fine before she went to work that day. She said George was home alone with the baby and their two other children before he took them to their grandparents' house.
Their grandmother, Cheska Rotellini, said she called 911 because Oliver's breathing was heavy, he wouldn't stop crying, he wouldn't eat and his ear was turning purple.
"He dropped a child off that was not acting correctly and was injured. Those injuries progressed during the few hours he was being babysat and that person called 911 and that person called the parents multiple times," said Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh.
"There is great concern as to who had access to this child immediately before he went to the hospital and it wasn't the defendant. He hadn't been around the child for three hours. The doctor testified that these injuries were acute, meaning they were severe and they were immediate," said Chris Blackwell, George's attorney.
Walsh said he will determine if he will seek the death penalty by the time of George's formal arraignment, which is scheduled for April 28.
Blackwell says he plans to seek medical expert testimony in this case when it goes to trial.